One of the first results of brain or central nervous system impairment is a reduction of motor skills, that is, the ability to control the motion of limbs, especially the hand, with any accuracy. One of the first controls to be lost is that over change in direction in moving the hands. Still many persons suffering from brain impairment can be trained, if the extend to which they retain motor skills can be determined, to perform many useful functions in life. Thus, an accurate means for evaluating such skills is an important tool too for the rehabilitation of such people and the finding for them of a useful place in society.
Past methods of testing motor skills have varied. One such involved testing their ability to perform specific mechanical tasks. Another involved testing their accuracy in the use of writing devices to draw accurately or to make lines within designated pathways on paper. In either case the speed and accuracy of the performance was a vital part of the test. Determining speed and accuracy was not always easily done. A more accurate and faster method of determining both simultaneously was needed.